Electrospun nanocomposite based on poly(l-lactic acid) and halloysite nanotube as wound dressing

Some types of wounds do not heal as a consequence of extensive lesions or chronic wounds, to overcome this limitation the engineered wound dressings have been developed to mimic the skin’s native structure. Among all of them, electrospun nanofibers have recently captured the attention of researchers which are capable of mimicking the morphological characteristics of the skin’s extracellular matrix (ECM). Moreover, these wound dressing can also support cell behavior such as cell adhesion, migration, growth and differentiation. In order to improve the performance of electrospun polymeric nanofibers performance in this application, the structure can be modified by using nanocomposite strategy.In this project, halloysite nanotubes (HNT) reinforced poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) nanofibers were produced by using an electrospinning method. Morphology, mechanical properties, water uptake and biocompatibility of electrospun nanocomposite wound dresses were characterized.The result indicated that the addition of HNT to PLLA nanofibers can improved mechanical properties, the modulus increased from 26.40±3.5 MPa to 42.58±5 MPa. Also it was shown that the water uptake, which is important parameter (similar to exudate absorbance) in wound healing, changed from 128± 8% to 210±3 % for PLLA and PLLA/HNT nanofibers respectively. However, the results of the cytotoxicity test showed the same biocompatibility in the samples.It was assumed that the nanofibrous composite membrane of electrospun PLLA/HNT could be potentially used for wound healing.

Keywords:

Poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) , Halloysite nanotube (HNT) , Electrospinning , Nanofibrous wound dress